Entertainment

7 Soothing iPhone Apps to Help You Relax

Megan Berry is an evangelist for Mobclix, the industry's largest mobile ad exchange, working on social media and marketing. She also blogs at The Huffington Post and the Mobclix blog. You can follow her on Twitter as @meganberry, or through the @Mobclix handle.

My iPhone is my baby, my constant companion, and I think it's safe to say it turned me into an Apple fangirl. However, I find that the iPhone generally adds to the stress in my busy life. Now anytime can be work time; there are always emails to respond to, the Twittersphere to catch up on, and blogs to read. Instead of reaching the, perhaps obvious, conclusion of putting my iPhone away occasionally, I set out to see if the iPhone could actually help me relax. Here are the best apps out there to de-stress with your favorite mobile device — of course putting the iPhone away may actually be better for your mental health.

I've long heard that yoga is great for relaxing, but have never made it through more than one class. This iPhone app is great for those who'd rather try out yoga in the comfort of their own home. For one, the sequence included in this app is actually possible for the yoga novice (i.e., me) to accomplish and did help me to relax at the end of the night. The visuals are beautiful and the audio explains what you should be doing so you don't have to always be looking at the screen.

Furthermore, the sequence is customizable so you can change around the order or number of poses you'd like in your session. You can also play your own music instead of the default, but I found that feature to be a little buggy. Overall, while the audio isn't perfect, Yoga Relax is the best yoga app out there right now.

I have to admit when I first saw this game I thought it would be lame. I was pretty sure any relaxing elements of a zen garden could not be transported to the iPhone. However, I have to admit I was wrong. It's surprisingly satisfying to virtually rake my zen garden and reset by shaking my phone. iZen Garden has all the benefits of a zen garden with no sand on your desk; it's clearly a win-win situation.

I also love how incredibly customizable this app is - you can change rake width and depth, rock shape and size, and add other elements to your zen garden. Personally, I found that the lite version has plenty of features, but if you just can't get enough, you can upgrade to the full version for $2.99.

Okay, so I know keeping a gratitude journal sounds incredibly cheesy. But, scientific studies show that people who are grateful and/or keep gratitude journals are less stressed, happier, and more likely to achieve their personal goals. With results like those I'm willing to put up with feeling a little silly.

The Gratitude Journal app is the perfect thing for the beginning journal keeper. I've been keeping one for three months now, and its bullet point format makes being grateful easy to fit into a busy schedule. Also, you can add a picture to your entries and export them. Of course, you could always decide to forget about being positive and keep a journal of grudges instead (I won't tell).

This app is a work of art. After a stressful day at work there's nothing like watching bonsai trees grow before your eyes. You can also "train your bonsai" to grow a certain way, but this isn't the app's strongest feature (as it's almost as hard as training a real bonsai).

You're better off just sitting back and enjoying the show, which comes complete with relaxing music. You can also shake the iPhone to make all the leaves fall off the tree, if you feel like your ticket to stress relief is destruction.

Much like the name implies, the Ambiance app allows you to play ambient noise, which can be useful as white noise to drown out annoyances (such as that incessantly barking dog next door, your cubicle mate, or the construction outside). The sound is very rich, and the app is pretty simple to use. You see descriptions of all the sounds available and choose which ones to download.

The best sounds in the app are the ones focused around nature, but it has a big selection. There's a lite version of the app you can use to try it out - you'll just be limited to 5 sound downloads. My only regret is that Apple doesn't allow apps to run in the background, so you can't use anything else on your phone while listening to the sounds.

Both yoga and meditation have been shown to actually change our genes' response to stress (in a good way). You certainly don't need an iPhone app to meditate, but I found MyMeditation helpful even if simply as a reminder as you're looking at your iPhone screen.

MyMeditation has a timer, so you can set how long you'd like to meditate for and also has background sound that's aimed at guiding your breath. It's relaxing, simple, and a no-brainer as the lite version is free. If you'd like more control over breath counts and music you can upgrade to the paid version for $2.99

If you're not really the meditating kind, this game is the next best thing. Despite playing in my loud office, I was instantly transported to a world where for some reason my goal was wrapping rope around objects. The concept sounds silly, but once you try the app, you'll understand why I'm recommending it.

I have never seen an iPhone app that was so suited to the iPhone itself. The game looks beautiful, the sounds are immersive, and the gameplay is seamless — it fires on all cylinders to deliver an amazing, and relaxing experience.

Cost: $4.99

Honorable Mentions

The apps that just missed our list included, Pret-a-yoga (Free / $0.99), a good yoga alternative, Koi Pond ($0.99), a delightfully relaxing and beautiful koi pond right on your iPhone screen. And White Noise (Free / $1.99), which is another app that offers a way to play ambient sounds.

What other apps are you using to help yourself unwind? Let us know in the comments.

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